Letterman Puts a Light Spin on Bypass Surgery

Television funny man David Letterman was cracking jokes in his hospital room Saturday as he recovered from emergency quintuple bypass surgery the day before.

“I feel fantastic. In addition to rerouting the arteries, they also installed an E-Z Pass,” Letterman, 52, said, joking about commuter toll passes.

Among the cards from well-wishers were flowers from President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Hillary Clinton appeared on his show Wednesday.

Doctors ordered the surgery Friday after an angiogram showed one of Letterman’s arteries was severely constricted. He had the test because of high cholesterol and a history of heart disease in his family.

“Dave’s doing great,” said Dr. O. Wayne Isom, chairman of cardiothoracic surgery at the Weill Cornell Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. “He’s making jokes and feels terrific. He’s on his way to a full recovery.”

Letterman’s doctors have said it is too soon to say how long the comedian will need to recuperate.

CBS plans to air reruns of the “Late Show With David Letterman” until he recovers.

Letterman made light of his arteries with guest Regis Philbin during the program that was taped Thursday and aired Friday, joking that after his tests, doctors might have to “open daddy’s rib cage.”